“... Are you sure you are taking all of that new medicine your doctor prescribed?” -MSing around EVENTEEN YEARS ago, John Mythen was the picture Ss ‘of. health. He was in the prime of his life teaching ne fashion illustration at Douglas College and. coaching - a feisty bunch of West Vancouver school kids in soccer in “ his spare time. Then suddenly, he developed - . symptoms that brought him to a * shuddering halt. He began to 1 stumble, lose control of his mus-. -. ~ cles, and found himself exhausted after performing even simple tasks. . A trip to the doctor turned up ney multiple sclerosis, a chronic pro- gressive disease of the nervous: “-.. system that robs the body of . coordination and can result in - we speech disorders and paralysis. -, The news came like a punch in = the gut. Mythen, then 40,.had . : never even | contemplated what it would be like to have a disability, "5 let alone face an uncertain future - and the end of a successful career “as a cartoonist. - . Mythen is the creator of Claude “+ the dog, the lovable cartoon pooch who always gets the better . of his superiors. During the ‘GOs in . Great Britain, Claude had a loyal following of over five million . readers'a week. Rather than sentence Clatide to a the dog house permanently, the North Vancouver illustrator decided to share his illness with _ man’s best friend and gave MS to Claude. Today the cartoon mut ° motors around in a wheelchair and faces all the same challenges ‘: and obstacles as his creator. _ “It.cameas a big shock,” Mythen says with a thick Liver- - pudiian accent, remembering how he felt when he first discovered he had M&S. “ifelt miserable — not for myself, but for all the young girls I met at Lions Gate Hospital (MS is more commen in young women). “So | started making light of the whole thing. I’d hear two - people bickering about certain oroblems that would come up and Vd makea joke about it and do it in a cartoon.” Rather than bite the hand that drew him, Claude proved to be an excelient device for teaching his . two-legged friends about MS. Mythen discovered there wasn’t much available in the way of self-help books written especially for the layman, so he decided to Evelyn Jacob SPOTLIGHT FEATURE . cast Claude as the star of MSing Around, a book he researched, wrote and illustrated for the B.C. Division of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. Using his own finances (and some assistance from the Howe Sound Lions Club of Canada) Mythen had 5,000 copies of the book printed. With Claude as the patient, he found he was able to talk about many of the sensitive issues that surround MS. “| point out a few things that teally bother ;-cople with MS,” he says. ‘‘It’s an easy.way to talk about the disease because Claude deesn’t resemble anybody.” So, when an electric scooter becomes necessary, Claude - doesn’t fight it. But in one cartoon, he can’t help but shed a tear when he passes a fire hydrant. Or, when it.comes to the pain of losing one’s coordination, Claude approaches his long putt on the golf course as a snooker player would, lying down on the green. Of course Claude isn’t so quick to accept his limitations. tn another cartoon, for instance, he uses a pair of plungers to scale the ceiling while his doctor pleads ” frantically below: “Claude, won’t you please give in and use a wheelchair?” What Mythen fearned is that many frustrations disabled people encounter every day can be over- - come with laughter. That's why he’s hoping Claude See Mythen page 26 Wednesday, January 8, 1992 —- North Shore News — Children's Wear -onevat requiar price. and get another up.to” ‘ saine value for,$1.00 wet, SIZES 2-16 - 20 - 50% off SPORTSWEAR Esprit, Osh Kosh Buster Brown 4142 East Hastings St. 298-5141 - 298-0715 Rate restructuring — _ proposal intended — to encourage electricity conservation - B.C.Hydro’s current residential and general .electricity rates: decrease as usage increases. This is inconsistent with encouraging” energy conservation. As a result of 3 a B C. Utilities Commission direction to file a rate :. design application, Hydro has proposed a rate structure for each ‘ customer category which corrects this situation over time. The - restructuring proposal now before the BCUC is.-the first Step: to’ ‘making the change. Subsequent steps will lead. to eliminating, ‘the _ declining rate structure. , The restructuring proposal does not provide iny aecitona revenue to B.C.Hydro, and it-is proposed that the restructured rates be effective only if and when future revenue increases are approved. _ The proposal involves choices as to how to amend the declining . rate structure to encourage the efficient use of electricity. Hydro remains committed to consultative processes with the public so that the decisions taken are in the best interests of its customers. The rate design public hearing begins at 8:30 an. on January 13, 1992, in the BCUC Hearing Room, 900 Howe Street, Vancouver. BC hydro Be Energy Wise — Be Power Smart 21